Rail fastening



W. H. BAILEY RAIL FASTENING Filed May 24, 1937 INVENTOR. W/LL/AM H. 634/415 y ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 1, 1939 UNITED STATES RAIL FASTENING William H. Bailey, Pueblo, 0010., assignor to The Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation, a corporation of Colorado Application May 24, 1937, Serial No. 144,330

5 Claims. (Cl. 238-351) My invention relates to rail fastenings, and more particularly relates to a tie plate and clip assembly for anchoring a rail to a cross tie.

An object of the invention is the provision of an anchorage for a railroad rail to a cross tie, that will effectively and in a simple manner hold the rail in its proper place.

Another object of the invention is to produce a rail fastening construction which can be accurately' installed in place without precise selection and measurement of parts, and which will be securely locked in place upon installation.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a rail fastening construction which will postiviely limit vertical and lateral movement of a rail relative to a tie.

Still another object of the invention is to provide in a rail fastening, a tie plate and clip assembly interlocking against accidental separation.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a railroad rail tie plate assembly combining liberal manufacturing tolerances with accuracy and dependability of. service during and after installation.

Other objects reside in novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, all of which will appear more fully in the course of the following description.

As is well-known in the art of railroad construction, provision is made for anchoring the rails to the cross ties, that will definitely maintain the rails in accurate transverse spaced relationship while permitting unobstructed longitudinal movement within the normal limits of molecular expansion and contraction due to temperature changes.

A metal tie plate is usually interposed between the steel rail and the wooden cross tie, to supply a bearing for the rail at each tie.

This invention embodies improvements in the tie plate per se, and in the therewith cooperative means for dependably holding the rail in its optimum relationship to the plate as well as in the means for securely anchoring the plate to the tie.

According to the present invention, a tie plate is provided with a plurality of undercut slots into which are hooked and locked, C-shaped clips that overlap the base flanges on both sides of the shaped form to provide a spike-receiving notch.

Spikes are driven through the notches and serve the dual purpose of locking the clips into the respective slots and anchoring the plates to a cross tie.

The improved tie plates are provided with a bearing pad between each slip-slot and the rail seat, which pads support the clips in spaced relation but in close proximity to the upper surface of the rail base flange. Each clip is held in this normal position, with its lower portion hooked into the undercut slot of the tie plate and its upper part closely overhanging the rail base, by a common railroad spike. The spaced relationship of the clip to the rail base permits the thermal longitudinal rail-movement above referred to.

Having thus described the improvements of the invention in general, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing to afford a better understanding of the invention. In the drawing Figure 1 is a plan View of a rail fastening construction embodying the features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2, Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan View of. a tie plate, showing the T-shaped slot of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, in the several views of which like parts have been designated similarly, the reference numeral 4 designates a tie plate, having a rail seat 5 determined by shoul ders 6., Ridges l are provided on the lower bearing surface of the tie plate for engaging the tie (not shown) in a manner well-known in the art.

The above-described features of the tie plate constitute standard construction, and are not a part of the present invention.

The plate is slotted or apertured' on opposite sides of the rail seat as indicated at 8, and the number of apertures may be varied as desired; four apertures on each plate, two on each side of the rail seat being ordinary practice.

While the number and location of these slots 8 conforms to ordinary practice, the shape of such slots constitutes an improvement in the art.

The shape of. each slot will be understood best by referring to the drawing wherein it is clear that a rectangular substantially T' shaped opening 9 has an undercut side i2 and a spike-receiving notch l0 opposite the undercut.

In punching the plates to'produce the undercut, a portion of the metal on the upper surface is extruded, and forms a clip bearing-pad or seat I3, which is utilized in a manner hereinafter to be described more fully.

The method of producing the tie plates, and more particularly of forming the slots or openings 8, is described and claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 144,331, filed May 24, 1937. Features described but not claimed in this application have been claimed in the other application.

The clip of the present invention is, as hereinbefore described, substantially C-shaped, having an upper overhanging end or head, a wedgeshaped body portion I5, and a lower hook or lip I6. A locking groove I! is provided on the sloping face of the body portion I5 of the clip.

Two forms of heads are. illustrated. For convenience in illustration, one form is designated by the numeral I4 and the other by the numeral Ma, the latter being of less .thickness and overhanging the rail to a greater degree than the head I4. I r

The shorter head I4 is used where a fish-plate is attached to the rail, to provide sufficient clearance for installation, while the longer head I 4a is usually preferable where no such plate is connected to the rail.

In use, the tie plate 4 is placed on a railroad tie (not shown), and a rail I8 having the usual flanged base IBa is placed on the seat 5 of the tie plate. The clips are fitted in the slots t with the hook of lip portion I6 of the same extended into the undercut I2, which in practice serves as an abutment to limit upward movement of the clip,

A railroad spike I9 is inserted into the notch ID in the slot 8 and driven downwardly into the tie. As the spike is driven, it engages the sloping face of the clip and forces it to the extreme opposite undercut side of the slot. This force is so great that the spike is actually bent just under its head, as shown at I9a in Figure 2. I The head of the spike springs into the groove IT on the sloping face of the clip, and the assembly is thereby locked securely in its operative. position. At the same time the lower end of the clip is held in its hooked engagement with the underanchor the entire assembly .to thetie.

cut. I2 in the plate, and the clip isforceddown to engage the clip bearing-pad I3, which spaces the head I4 or [4a of the clip at a' predetermined distance above the rail-base flange. The spikes The shoulders 6 on the plate limit lateral displacement or movement of the rail and the C- clips limit the upward movement of the rail which is thus free to expand and contract longitudinally; The sloping, outer face of the wedgeshaped body of each C-clip engages the respecas well as in the plate.

tive spike at two places, 'i. e., at the locking groove l1 and at another point therebelow. The exact location of the lower contact of the clip with the spike will depend upon manufacturing variations in the component parts of the assembly. It is apparent that the wedge face of the clips will compensate for liberal manufacturing tolerances in the clip itself and in the spike, Also, engagement of the spike shaft with the clip at a point spaced below the groove I'I serves to stabilize the clip in its relation to the tie-plate. In the driving of the spike, the spaced engagement between the spike head and upper part of the clip and the it will engage the face of the clip at some place and the spike will yield as it is driven completely down, to securely effect a dependable lock of all parts of the assembly. That is, the spike in its final position will be stressed due to the yielding and bending thereof just under the head, as shown at I9a, so that the inherent resiliency thereof will cause it to exert a spring action on the clip tending to force the clip against the flat vertical face of seat I3. This spring action will resist any tendency of the clip to become loosened due to vibration of the tie or the tie-plate or to other causes.

For convenience in assembly, the slots 8 are slightly wider than the clips, permitting the clips and spikes to be arranged readily in operative position before the spikes are driven into the ties.

Ifdesired, the clips I4, Ma may be so proportioned as to provide a clearance between the lower hook I6 thereof .and the undercut portion I2 of the slot, as shown in Fig. 2. This clearance permits a limited vertical movement of the clip to accommodate excessive vertical displacement of the rail in case of an emergency, as for example, in the event of a derailment. Upon occurrence of such an emergency resulting in abnormal upward movement of the rail, the latter after engaging the overhanging part of the clip forces the clip upwardly in the slot until the lower hook I6 engages the tie plate, this movement of the clip being yieldingly resisted by the spike. Thus, breakage of one or more parts of the assembly which might otherwise occur is prevented.

It will be observed that with the new construction any tendency of the rail to move further upwardly after it has engaged the overhanging portion of the clip will result in a'turning moment on the clip tending to force the upper portion of its inclined face outwardly against the spike head. This action tends to 'force' the lower end of the spike laterally in the tie toward the spike on the opposite side of the rail, whereby withdrawal of the spikes incident to movement of the rail is resisted with increased effectiveness.

'-Wnile various materials may be utilized in manufacturing the clips, it has been foundad vantageous to make them of rolled steel to provide suflicient rigidity and tensile strength to insure proper resistance to stresses which might produce breakage or distortion in weaker materials.

Changes and modifications may be availed of within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the hereunto appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

1. The combination with a tie-plate having a rail-seating surface and an undercut slot adjacent the seat, of a rail on the seat, an upwardly extending projection between the seat and slot having a bearing surface at the top thereof, a substantially C-shaped clip positioned in the slot and seated on said bearing surface with a portion of the top thereof overhanging the rail base in spaced relation thereto and a portion of the bottom of the clip extending into the undercut portion of the slot in vertically spaced relation to the plate, the clip having an intermediate portion formed with a cam face extending obliquely downwardly from the top of the clip and outwardly from the rail base, and a spike extending through the slot and having its head in engagement with said cam face intermediate the ends thereof to yieldingly secure the clip against upward movement in the slot.

2. The combination with a tie, of a tie-plate on the tie having a rail-seating surface, a. slot adjacent the seat, and a shoulder between the slot and seat, a spike extending througl'i the slot and driven into the tie, and a clip supported in the slot on said shoulder between the rail and spike and having a part overlying the rail base, said clip having a wedge face on the back thereof extending obliquely downwardly from the top of the clip and outwardly toward the spike, said wedge face being disposed in the path of the spike head when the spike is driven and terminating at its outer extremity in a seat against which the spike head is engaged in its driven position, whereby the spike in its driven position is distorted immediately below the head thereof by the clip.

3. The combination with a tie-plate having a rail-seating surface and a slot adjacent the seat, of a rail on the seat, a generally C-shaped clip positioned in the slot to overhang the rail base and having a cam face on the back thereof extending obliquely downwardly and outwardly from the rail, a shoulder on the plate on which the clip is supported and having a substantially vertical face against which the clip abuts, and a spike driven through the slot into the tie and having its head engaging the clip intermediate the ends of said cam face and distorted outwardly from the rail by the clip, whereby the spike exerts a spring action on the clip urging the same against said vertical face of the shoulder, the spike shank having a part engaging the clip near the lower extremity of said cam face and being spaced from the clip intermediate said last part and the head of the spike.

4. The combination with a tie-plate having a rail-seating surface and a slot adjacent the seat, of a rail on the seat, a generally C-shaped clip positioned in the slot to overhang the rail base and having a part underlying the tie-plate in vertically-spaced relation thereto to provide a space between said part and the overlying portion of the plate, the clip having a cam face on the back thereof extending obliquely downwardly and outwardly from the rail, and a spike extending through the slot and driven into the tie with its head engaging the clip intermediate the ends of said cam face, a portion of the spike immediately below the head thereof being disposed above the tie-plate and held in a distorted form by engagement of the spike head with the clip, the portion of said cam face below the spike head being operable to resist upward movement of the clip in the slot.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a clip for rail fastening, comprising a substantially C- shaped body of substantially uniform width throughout and having a wedge-shaped body portion and forwardly extending lateral projections at the top and bottom thereof, the body portion including a lateral cam face on the back thereof extending obliquely downwardly and outwardly away from said projections, a groove at the lower end of the cam face and of a depth less than the horizontal component of the cam face, and a cam face on the back of the clip below the groove and extending downwardly and outwardly beyond a vertical plane through the outer extremity of the first cam face.

WILLIAM H. BAILEY. 

